Photographs
by Hidenka-chan101
Summary: It's been five years since Sasuke left and he was finally returning to Konoha, to Naruto....Char Death....SasuxNaru lem


A/N: It's different from the previous works i've done...it's a tragedy...don't know if it's good, please comment

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or any of its characters...except for Keichiro...she's mine

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**Photographs**

Five years have gone by, since Sasuke left the village, left his friends, teachers and home behind him, in search for his brother, Itachi. Nothing had occupied his mind during those two years he had been training with Orochimaru, except for revenge. Revenge was his main focus. Even as a child, studying in school at the Academy. Graduating, becoming a genin. Going on missions with his teammates, Naruto and Sakura, all he ever thought about was how he was going to become stronger and defeat Itachi and avenge his clan.

Jumping from tree to tree, Sasuke fingered the gold band on his ring finger. A shadow of a smile played at the corner of his lips at the thought of the villagers reaction and of his comrades, when they saw his return. The thought of seeing everyone and a special someone caused the raven to hasten his return. Upon seeing the main gate of Konoha, Sasuke lept out from the trees and stood in front of the entrance of his home.

Izumo and Kotetsu's jaws dropped when they saw the last remaining Uchiha standing at the gate of Konoha. Both shinobis simply stared, surprise and shock evident on their faces. Paying no attention to them, Sasuke made his way into the village, heading to look for **him**.

Although years have passed since he had stepped foot into the village, he had not forgotten the place where the loud blonde lived, for it was etched into his mind. It was his sanctuary…their sanctuary. Standing in front of the familiar green door that was the place where Naruto lived, Sasuke was surprised to see a 'FOR RENT' sign taped to the front door. Frowning, Sasuke tried opening the door, to his utter surprise, it was locked.

"Are you interested?"

Whipping his head around, Sasuke was surprised to see the landlord of the establishment, old and grey. Squinting his eyes, the landlord tried to make out the face of the potential renter.

"This place is for…rent?" Sasuke asked hesitantly.

"Why, yes. It says so on the sign. Can't you read?" the old man snapped.

"I noticed." The raven answered through gritted teeth, "What happened to the other tenant?"

"Oh…you must be new here." The man said, sadness suddenly clouded his wrinkled face.

"Why? What happened?"

"Tragic…very tragic…"

"What's tragic?" Sasuke asked, afraid of what he might hear.

But his question remained unanswered, for the old man had started mumbling to himself. Forgetting that Sasuke was there, the old man went back inside his own apartment, closing the door softly behind him. Brows furrowed, Sasuke left Naruto's apartment in search for the only other person he knew.

"I'm sorry, but Sakura's on a mission and she won't be back until next month."

"Thank you. Sorry to bother you Haruno-san."

"It's not a problem."

"Ino? She's off on another mission."

"Shikamaru's in Suna. Won't be back until winter."

"Chouji's not here right now."

"Kiba's on a mission with his sister. He'll be back next week."

"Neji and Hinata are on separate missions. Don't know when they'll be back."

"Shino's gone to the Stone country on diplomatic duty."

"Lee's off with Gai on another of their 'Spirit of Youth' quests."

"Tenten's visiting her grandmother. She'll be back tomorrow."

"Thank you."

Punching the nearest tree in his vicinity, Sasuke let out his frustration and anger out in that strike. Wracking his brain for someone, anyone who he knew, who would know the blonde's whereabouts. A gust of wind blew through the trees, ruffling his bangs. Turning his face in the direction of the wind, the raven's eyes landed on the establishment which lay not far from his own abandoned home. Walking hurriedly towards his destination, he stood in front of the gates, hoping that the person he was looking for would be here. Raising his hand to knock, he was surprised when the door flung inwards, revealing the person he had been hoping to find.

"Keichiro!"

Frozen on the spot, the oriental girl stared, bewildered at the sight in front of her.

"Sasuke? You're back!"

Flinging her arms around the Uchiha, hugging the life out of the boy, Keichiro bit her lip, not believing what she was seeing. Patting the girl on the back, Sasuke didn't push her off like he would have done in the past. Instead, he returned the hug, cherishing the gesture, knowing that this was the first real welcome he had received upon entering the village again.

"Where's Naruto?"

Slowly, Keichiro let got of Sasuke's neck, smile having faded when she looked up at the boy in the eyes. Hands still on his shoulders, the midnight-haired girl bit her lip, debating with herself, wondering about what to answer the boy.

"Where's Naruto, Kei."

Hearing her nickname being spoken by the raven, Keichiro dropped her arms back to her sides. Taking a deep breath and forcing a smile back onto her face, she took him by the arm.

"Come in."

Letting himself be pulled inside the Hakuryuu compound, Sasuke felt the atmosphere switch drastically from happiness to sadness. Trying to see the expression on the midnight-haired girl's face, it was then that they halted in front of a door. Without waiting to be questioned, Keichiro slid open the doors and beckoned the raven to enter. Upon entering, Sasuke's eyes went immediately to the grayed-out picture of the blonde and the lit incense that was in front of the framed picture.

"Keichiro…" Sasuke said slowly.

Walking past the raven, Keichiro took three more sticks of incense from the container next to the altar. Lighting the tip, she bowed three times before placing the incense in the incense holder in front of the picture.

"How long have you been back?" Keichiro asked, without turning away from Naruto's picture.

"I just came back."

"I see." Turning around, but keeping her eyes cast down, Keichiro continued, "You must have asked around, but everyone's out or on a mission…right?"

"Yeah."

"Come, sit here."

Pointing to the coffee table close to the altar, Keichiro went to one of the shelves that lined the walls of the room. Pulling a large volume from one of the shelves, the midnight-haired girl sat herself down on the side facing the altar. Sitting down next to the girl, Sasuke found that where he sat, he was able to see the picture of Naruto, laughing and smiling like always. Placing the book on the table, Keichiro took a deep breath, drawing Sasuke's attention.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked, throat tight with emotions.

"Three months ago, Naruto started to take pictures of every one, every thing and every place."

Opening the volume, the midnight-haired girl showed the raven the pictures the kitsune had taken. All of them with him to one side of the frame, or in group pictures, but there was always an empty space.

"He wanted to ask Sakura to take the pictures for him, but decided that I would be a better photographer. Or he just didn't want her to know that she was going to lose him." Pausing to take deep breath, Keichiro blinked back the onslaught of tears, "So, I took the photos, some only with him to the side of the frame, some with him and gang, but he'd always tell me to leave empty space next to him. And he told me, 'This is for the one person that isn't here. I want him in the pictures, even if he's not physically here.'"

Sasuke started flipping through the pages in the album and noticed the cutout pictures of him, aged to the age he was now, pasted in the area that was left bare, on purpose. Breathing through his nose, Sasuke fought back the tears that were already threatening to spill. Licking his dry lips, the raven forced his voice to stay calm.

"And then…?"

"Naruto cancelled the contract he had with the landlord because he couldn't pay the rent anymore. So, he went around, from Sakura to Ino, to Neji to Chouji and then finally he stayed over at my place. The funny thing was, he never stayed more than two weeks and a half. Told us that he didn't want to stay glued to one place. He stayed the longest here, I figured it was cause my house was closest to where you used to live. He said it was the closest thing he could to have to staying with you."

Eyes watering, Sasuke kept his eyes glued to the smiling pictures of the blonde. Imagining him smiling, talking, laughing and telling Keichiro how to take the pictures, he smiled slightly just thinking about the way Naruto would have said that.

"How did he…?"

Letting out a shaky breath, Keichiro close her eyes momentarily as the memories of that fateful night came flooding back.

"It happened three weeks ago. Naruto took every single roll of film to the convenience store to get them developed. He called me a few hours later, telling me that he couldn't carry everything. We ended up bringing five dozen packs of 24 4x6 pictures back here, in this room. That night, he started sorting them, piling them up in neat little stacks. The next day, he went out and got photo albums and developed another set of pictures. He took the newly developed photos and cut out your picture and stuck it in the empty space that was in every picture. I walked in on him doing that and he looked up at me and said 'Told you this spot was meant for Sasuke'. He wouldn't even let me help him. He worked on the albums for two whole days, only stopping to eat."

"He did this? All of it?"

Sasuke stared in amazement at the design and artwork in the album. Surprised that he had never noticed the artistic side of the blonde dobe, the raven suddenly realized that he would never be able to insult the blonde or even praise him.

"Yeah. And it was on the night, when he finished the last of the albums that the pain was too much to bear, that it was then that we all found out about Naruto's condition."

"What was it?"

"On a previous mission, he was hit with a poisoned dart. At first the symptoms didn't seem to be fatal, but apparently the poison stays dormant in the host and once its awakened, it attacks the host immune system, practically eating the host from the inside out. Tsunade-sama and Sakura were shocked at the sight of Naruto's internal organs. Only his heart looked whole, while everything looked melted. He left us that night, but before that, he told us not to cry at his funeral but to laugh and be loud. He said that that was what everyone knew him for, a loud and happy blonde that never gave up."

Sniffing a few times, Keichiro wiped away the tears that had fallen. Biting her lip, the girl turned her head away from the Uchiha, hiding her chagrin from his eyes. Staring blankly at the photos in the album, Sasuke brushed his fingers on the glossed image of the blonde, remembering the softness of the blonde's skin under his touch.

Grabbing the album, Keichiro placed it in Sasuke's hands. Looking at the boy in the eyes, Sasuke noticed the tears that had run down her cheeks.

"Naruto had a wish…to take a picture with you. He made this for you."

Holding the album close, the raven left the dragon-nin's house, lost in thought. Eyes blank, Sasuke walked aimlessly down the street, not really knowing where he was heading. Not knowing nor caring about the time, Sasuke was surprised when he ended up in front of Naruto's abandoned apartment. Once again, the old man came out, asking if he wanted to rent the place. Without a word, the raven handed the man enough money to buy the entire property. Without hesitation, the old man handed the Uchiha the key and rushed back inside his own apartment.

Placing the key in the lock, Sasuke watched as the door opened into the hallway he knew so well. Stepping into the room, closing the door carefully behind him, the raven scanned the furnishings within the apartment. He smiled when he saw how everything seemed to still be in place, as if it was conserved in time. Spotting the bed by the window, the raven walked to the edge and lowered himself onto the soft mattress.

Caressing the made bed with his free hand, Sasuke lay down on his side and placed the album on the empty space beside him. Burying his face in the pillow, the raven inhaled deeply in hopes of catching the faint smell of Naruto.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Tears had started falling freely now that he was back, at the last place he saw his love alive.

"I promised that I would be back soon. Why couldn't you wait for me?"

Caressing the spot where Naruto would have laid, Sasuke let his tears fall, soaking the pillow his sorrow.

_**Flashback**_

_Naruto lay on his side, the sheet only coming up halfway to cover his hips and legs. Creeping into the room, Sharingan activated, Sasuke made sure that no Anbu or jounin was present before he slipped underneath the covers with the blonde. Stirring slightly that the movement of the bed, it wasn't until Sasuke had slipped an arm around the blonde's waist, pulling him to his chest did the blonde's eyes fluttered open. _

"_Sasuke!"Naruto whispered happily._

"_Naruto." Sasuke whispered lovingly._

"_I've missed you."the blonde's voice muffled in the raven's chest. _

"_And I you." _

_Tilting the blonde's head, Sasuke captured Naruto's lips in a soft and gentle kiss, relishing the time spent with the blonde. Arms coming up to wrap around the raven's neck, Naruto deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into Sasuke's mouth, trying to coax the raven's tongue to enter his moist cavern. Smirking against the kiss, Sasuke obliged, plundering the mouth of his blonde, memorizing every corner, etching it all into his mind. _

_Arms still wrapped around the blonde, Sasuke pulled Naruto flush against him, grinding his manhood in boy's boxer clothed one. Moaning into the kiss, Naruto encouraged the action by rubbing himself against the raven. Breaking the kiss, both boys were breathing harshly. _

"_Someone's anxious." Sasuke smirked._

"_Shut up. I love you and I want you...Is that a crime?" the blonde looked at the raven with innocent eyes. _

"_Well, that makes __**me**__ want you all the more."_

"_Then take me, Sasuke. Mark me, fuck me…love me."_

"_My pleasure…and yours."_

_Rolling onto the blonde, Sasuke passionately kissed the blonde, making his way to the juncture between his neck and shoulder. Biting down, the raven licked and sucked the area. Throwing his head back to give more room to the raven, Naruto moaned, urging the raven to continue. Kissing his way across the blonde's collarbone, Sasuke lapped up the beads of sweat that had started to form on the blonde's tan skin. _

_Feeling the need to participate, Naruto pulled back the white obi Sasuke wore, exposing the raven's shoulder. Placing butterfly kisses on the exposed skin, while his hands continued pulling off the offending garment, Naruto bit down on the flesh, drawing blood. Moaning at the pain, Sasuke answered in kind, biting down on the juncture, beads of blood began oozing out but was caught by Sasuke's tongue._

"_Delicious." _

_Sucking on the spot he bit, Naruto's sole focus was to get Sasuke down to his boxers, like he was. But the constant pleasure the raven was causing kept on stopping him from his goal. Whining at his own inability to undress the raven, Sasuke smirked down at the blonde. Holding the blonde's hands in his own, he guided the boy's hands to the knot that kept his outfit together. Pulling hard on the knot, Naruto wasted no time in throwing the raven's clothes in all the corners of his room, while Sasuke went back to kissing down his chest. Stopping to nuzzle one of the blonde's dusky nipples, the raven clamped his mouth on the nub, drawing a loud moan from the blonde's lips. _

_Hands buried in the raven's dark locks, Naruto tossed his head from side to side, enjoying the feel of Sasuke's lips on his skin. While his mouth sucked on his nipple, the other wandered to the other, tweaking and pulling, causing the blonde to moan wantonly. _

"_Sa-Sasu-ke…I…w-wan-want…m-mo-more." The blonde moaned._

_Smirking around the blonde's nipple, Sasuke trailed his hand down to Naruto's boxer covered manhood. Fondling the boy through his underwear, enjoying every single sound that escaped the blonde's lips, Sasuke deftly yanked off the offending material, freeing the heated flesh from its confines. _

"_S-stop t-tea-teasing."_

_Not wanting to torture the blonde any longer, Sasuke kissed down Naruto's chest, stomach, navel, heading for the prize that stood proudly between the blonde's legs. Rubbing his cheek against the hard shaft, Sasuke kissed the tip before taking the tip into mouth. Thrusting his hips, trying to get himself deeper, Naruto moaned when Sasuke's hands held his hips down, preventing him from moving. Staring up at the blonde from his position between the blonde's legs, Sasuke watched the emotions that played across Naruto's face. _

_Bobbing his head, Sasuke dragged his tongue along the underside of the shaft, tasting the pre-cum that oozed from the tip. Breathing harshly, Naruto grabbed his hair, unable to take the pleasure the raven was giving him._

"_Sa-sasuke, I c-can't. Pl-please…"_

_Without another word, Sasuke let go of the blonde's erection. Reaching for the lube that lay on the nightstand, Sasuke was surprised when the blonde stopped him. Onyx eyes met cerulean blue as Sasuke looked at the blonde questioningly._

"_I want it hard, tonight. I want to feel you…every inch of you…as you enter me…as you fuck me…as you make me yours…forever."_

_Positioning himself at Naruto's entrance, he looks at the blonde, asking his silent question. Sensing the Uchiha's hesitation, Naruto spreads his thighs farther apart._

"_Make love to me, Sasuke."_

_Hooking an arm underneath each knee, Sasuke slowly entered the blonde boy. Blinking back tears of pain, Naruto bit his lip to keep from crying out. Seeing the fallen tears, the raven leaned forward, kissing away the tears, then planting kisses on the boy's cheeks, jaw, chin and finally connecting with the blonde's lips. Leaning his forehead on Naruto's, he looked deep into the blonde's sapphire blue eyes, waiting for a sign to continue. Caressing the raven's cheek, Naruto gave Sasuke a soft smile and a nod. It was all the encouragement the raven needed. _

_Slamming all the way into the blonde, Sasuke groaned at the tightness and heat that surrounded his shaft. Throwing his head back, the boy bit his lip in his attempt to keep himself from pounding into Naruto. _

"_Aaah…Sa-sasuke…do-don't stop…" _

_Rolling his hips, Sasuke pulled out, leaving the tip inside before ramming back in. Naruto's back arched off the bed, eyes clenched in ecstasy, mouth open in a silent scream of pleasure. Seeing the state his blonde dobe was in, Sasuke couldn't resist the urge to see more, do more to his blonde. _

_Again, the raven thrust in, driving the blonde closer to completion. In, out, in, out, in, out, this pattern continued until Sasuke changed the angle, hitting the blonde's pleasure point dead on. _

"_A-aahh…oh God…Sasuke, again…pl-please…"_

_Smirking, Sasuke aimed for that spot again, hitting it with every single thrust. Arms reaching out for the raven, Naruto was able to pull himself up to capture the raven's lip sin a sloppy kiss. Wrapping his fingers around the blonde's erection, Sasuke pumped in time with his own thrust. Arching into the hand, Naruto did whatever he could to lengthen the pleasure he felt, and the time spent with his lover. _

"_Sasu-sasuke…I'm go-gonna…cu-cum…aaaahhh"_

_Head thrown back, back arched, Naruto spilled his seed all over their chests. The clenching of Naruto's inner walls also triggered the raven's completion, thrusting a few more times into the blonde, Sasuke filled the blonde with his seed. _

_Unable to move, Sasuke laid down on top of Naruto, who instinctively wrapped his arms protectively around his shoulders. Burying his nose in the blonde's sun kissed hair, Sasuke inhaled the scent that belonged only to Naruto. Slipping a gold ring onto the blonde's ring finger, Sasuke intertwined his fingers with Naruto's._

"_I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

_**End Flashback**_

Tears stained the boys pale cheeks, as he fell into a dreamless sleep. Hugging the album close to his chest, the raven called out to the one he loved in his sleep, not ready to believe that his love had already left this world.

A strong gust of wind blew open the windows, casting away the drapes that hung closed, revealing the moon and allowing the moon's light to shine through. A ghost of a hand brushes lightly across the Uchiha's cheek as the ghostly figure of Naruto lay beside him, in the same fashion the real Naruto would have. A sad smile graces the kitsune's face upon seeing the sadness etched so clearly on his lover's face.

Planting a small kiss on the boy's cheek, Naruto leaned close to his ear.

"Live for me, love. Please don't cry. I love you, forever and always."

"I love you too, Naruto." Sasuke mumbled in his sleep.

Planting a kiss on the raven's forehead, the blonde disappeared, leaving the room the same way it was the moment Sasuke stepped in. His breathing evening out, Sasuke was able to sleep peacefully that night, yet the words the blonde spoke echoed in his mind. A smile formed while the boy slept, as he dreamt of the times he spent with the blonde during their youth, his grip on the album remained the same, unwilling to let go.

The night breeze enters the room, blowing away the curtains that stand in its way. Ruffling the dark locks of Sasuke Uchiha while he slept, dreaming of the one he loved…dreaming of the one he'll only be able to see in his dreams and memories.

_Many things fade in life, and we are only left with memories...But sometimes, we only need a sweet memory to conitnue living._

Owari

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A/N: I got this idea when i was watching a movie, and thought it would be interesting to write one with Sasuke and Naruto as the main characters. I'm not really used to writing tragey tragedies, most of the time, my tragedies aren't really tragedies, if you know what i mean. Please comment or criticise, would really appreciate the reviews. It'll show me if i did a good job or not. Thanks.


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